1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to ultrasonic cleaning of boilers, and more particularly to a method and apparatus for the ultrasonic cleaning of boiler tubes, tube sheets and the interior surfaces of horizontal/vertical fire tube boilers.
2. Description of the Background Art
The accumulation of deposits on the interior of a horizontal/vertical fire tube boiler, which hereafter will be referred to as a boiler, is a common occurrence. It is well known that chemical cleaning to remove the deposits accumulated inside the boiler is extremely time consuming, expensive and harmful to the environment.
Ultrasonic cleaners have existed for a period of time and have been used in numerous applications in various fields. See for example U.S. Pat. No. 4,375,911, issued to Samuel L. Sachs and Freeman K. Hill on Mar. 8, 1983. This patent discloses an ultrasonic cleaning method and apparatus to remove bio-fouling of heat exchangers in an ocean thermal energy conversion plant.
A previous method for cleaning boiler tubes was by brushing or scraping the tubes. Some of the deposits and sludge would be removed, but this proved to be highly ineffective, time consuming, labor intensive and expensive.
It is the purpose of the present invention to overcome the disadvantages of the prior an by disclosing an improved method and apparatus for the ultrasonic cleaning of fire tubes and the interior surfaces in a boiler.